United States Constitution; Equal Rights Amendment. (HJ495)

Introduced By

Progress

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Introduced

✗

Passed Committee

☐

Passed House

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Passed Senate

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Signed by Governor

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Became Law

Description

United States Constitution; Equal Rights Amendment. Ratifies the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution that was proposed by Congress in 1972. The joint resolution advocates the position that the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment remains viable and may be ratified notwithstanding the expiration of the 10-year ratification period set out in the resolving clause, as amended, in the proposal adopted by Congress. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Failed

History

Date

Action

08/16/2014

Committee

08/16/2014

Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/14/15 15100137D

08/16/2014

Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections

02/10/2015

Left in Privileges and Elections

Duplicate Bills

Comments

Simone Robertswrites:

Dear Delegates,

Please bring the Equal Rights Amendment to the floor at the earliest opportunity in 2015. Killing it in subcommittee will not do. Your stance on this civil rights and economics issue must be public, and proud.

Bringing the Equal Rights Amendment to the floor will set a message that we Virginians are forward-thinking, equal-minded people. The public supports this bill. This bill has been stuck for far too long.

I do not support this amendment. Citizens retain all rights under our current law no matter what sex they are. Adding a new amendment for sex (men, women,transgender, no gender? etc.) to be enforced by Congress only invites more thousands of pages of expensive regulations, programs, etc. to somehow pretend we don't have different sexes of people or somehow neutralize the fact that we do.
This amendment is totally unnecessary and would potentially be as harmful as the Title IX disaster.

I write to urge you to support ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in 2015 (SJ216). The Equal Rights Amendment is a civil rights and economic stability issue for all women and communities in Virginia — and the nation.

Women are not yet fully recognized citizens in the Constitution. That’s why we have this patch work of laws “protecting” us. We are not otherwise fully enfranchised citizens assure of our civil rights.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is often cited as a reason not to pass the ERA because it provides equality, thus making the ERA no longer necessary (and one that Virginian legislators often point to). Unfortunately, Section 2 of the 14th Amendment goes to deliberate lengths to exclude women, with the wording male citizen and male inhabitant 3. Exclusion of women from the 14th was carefully designed. The 19th Amendment would not have been necessary to give females the right to vote, had the 14th Amendment been written more inclusively.

The simplest route to reducing the number of public school children living in poverty — which interferes with learning — is to pay their mothers equally.

The Congress has passed four laws since the 1963 Equal Pay Act, in attempts to assure women pay equity in the workplace. All of these leave the burden on women to discover inequality and sue for compensation, rather than on the employer to be on the bright side of the law. The Equal Rights Amendment would reduce the number of civil cases of women seeking compensation for lost wages. The ERA would assure women and families of an average increase of 23% more income–more in communities of color, where women earn as little as 64 cents to a white man’s dollar. Most of these women are mothers, and that missing pay a real hardship for their children, leading to long-term educational deficits. This missing annual income also negatively affects women’s 401(k) contributions, and the Social Security they are saving for themselves. The ERA would increase middle class economic power in the present, put American school children in a better position to learn, and reduce the number of economically stressed or poor senior citizens (most of whom are women) in the future.

There is no downside to this amendment. I invite you to read further on its benefits here: Virginia ERA Network.

I ask that you encourage and support your colleagues in the Senate, and especially the House of the Delegates, to bring the ERA to the floor for a public and affirmative vote for ratification. No matter of American’s civil rights should dealt with in secret. Stand proudly by your positions on women’s equality.

Work progresses, the meanwhile, to lift the arbitrary deadline in the US Congress. The states wait for Congress. Congress waits for the states. Virginia could be the state to bring all American women out of this catch-22. At long last, it could be Virginia that makes all the difference for women.

Let Virginia be a proud leader for civil rights and economic stability in the 21st Century.